


A Window Full of Moonlight

by The_Wright



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Minor Katara, Sokka & Aang are brothers, Sokka snores like a lawnmower, post Season 1 finale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-16 20:35:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29213520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Wright/pseuds/The_Wright
Summary: In the aftermath of the Siege of the Northern Water Tribe, Aang tries to help Sokka deal with the loss of Yue
Relationships: Aang & Sokka (Avatar), Sokka/Yue (Avatar)
Kudos: 16





	A Window Full of Moonlight

**Author's Note:**

> Just an attempt at filling the general lack of Sokka & Aang being bros. This is my first post so any constructive criticism is more than welcome

It was the silence that kept Aang awake. Even in their house in the Northern Water Tribe, with Appa in a stable and snow all around, Sokka’s snoring had been a constant, comforting accompaniment to Aang’s nights. The older boy was an anchor in the new life Aang had been forced to build; an essential presence that had once seemed exceedingly loud to a boy used to the peace and serenity of a temple full of airbending monks. Ever since the iceberg, Aang had quickly found himself unable to fall asleep without the steady rhythm of his new friends alongside him. The airbender tried his best to sleep regardless; the aftermath of the Fire Nation siege had been exhausting, and Aang had spent most of the last several days wishing for the chance to curl up and sleep for a few weeks. 

Any chance of that rest flew out the window when Aang woke to Sokka’s crying. 

Aang froze, laying as silently as he could. The next sound he heard was more of a shaky exhale, obviously let out as silently as possible and even more obviously coming from Sokka’s bed. As carefully as he could manage, Aang turned over towards the older boy, trying to ensure he didn’t hear. Instead of the expansive sprawl that Aang had seen in Sokka’s bedroll on so many other mornings, the older boy and his bedding were curled up in a tiny lump, centered in a moonbeam cast through the far window. As Aang watched, the heap of blankets shivered in time with another poorly disguised sob. After shifting slightly, he could even even pick out the too bright glimmer of wet eyes under Sokka’s blankets.

It only took one more rough sound from Sokka to pull Aang out of bed. The trip across the relatively small room the pair had chosen to stay in was only a few steps, the monk’s thick pile of blankets trailing behind him like a cloak. Sokka didn’t even seem to realize what Aang was doing until the airbender had already slid onto his bed, snuggling alongside the older boy’s makeshift nest of bedding. 

“Do you want a hug?”

Aang’s voice came out less steady than he intended, more of a squeak than the reassuring tone that Katara could have probably managed in the same situation. Sokka didn’t seem to mind. After one more sniffling hiccup, he nodded and lifted his blankets to let Aang in. 

Safely ensconced with the older boy, arms wrapped around his chest, Aang sat and waited and tried to think of what Katara would do. Sokka had tensed up when Aang joined him beneath his blankets, but after several long minutes he spoke.

“I never used to believe in all the spirit stuff.” Sokka’s voice was almost too quiet to hear.

“Gran-Gran would tell all these stories: ghosts and magic fish, and regular people who did the impossible and Katara always loved them.”

Sokka paused for a brief moment, collecting his thoughts. 

“I always came up with a nice rational explanation. It was like a game but now . . .” Another wracking sob. “If I’d just taken her more seriously, if I’d known what was happening . . . Fuck”

By the end Sokka had devolved into further sobs - more constant and breathless than Aang had heard all night

“I promised to protect her. I promised and I didn’t and it’s all my fault.”

The words poured out of Sokka in a sudden rush, over and over and over, his voice far rougher than Aang was used to hearing. Speaking seemed to have opened a dam as Sokka curled into himself - sobbing into the mound of blankets wrapped around the pair. All Aang could think to do was pull the other boy tighter as he cried. 

Eventually Sokka quieted and spoke again.

“After . . . it happened, she came back. You started glowing and left, but, it was Yue. She was glowing and she kissed me and . . . fuck. I don’t get it Aang. Is . . . is she really up there?”

Aang lay silently for longer than he would have liked, sorting through all the chaos and turbulence from the invasion. The impressions left by the Ocean Spirit clashed against his own: disjointed memories too huge and angry and alien for any human to fully comprehend. Aang pushed past the residual waves of fear to what he could understand. 

“The moon feels different, I think. More human. I was pretty distracted, but Katara told me what happened and . . . I definitely felt something go away, before I went into the Avatar state. And then a presence returned.”

Aang felt his own tears welling and buried his face into the blankets. Both boys were silent for a long moment, snuggled beneath their mound of blankets.

“I think it’s true Sokka. Yue sacrificed herself to save the balance of the world. She knew that without the moon all the nations would die.”

Sokka snarled, twisting out of the bedding to face Aang while sitting upright.

“It’s not fair.”

Sokka was shouting, the expression on his face as angry as Aang had ever seen. 

“She - ” Sokka’s breath hitched; the tears on his cheeks gleamed in the moonlight. “She was already gonna marry that ass, and now she’s gone and I just . . . I wanted her to be happy.” 

Aang laid on the edge of the bed, trying to gather his thoughts. When he finally spoke, it was as calmly as he could.

“Sometimes when I’m feeling really sad and overwhelmed about the Monk Gyatso and the other Air Nomads, I go find a tree or a cliff or something and just talk. I tell him about the cool new animals I saw, or a new waterbending move I learned, or stuff like that. It . . .” 

Aang took a shuddering breath of his own, forcing down the usual wave of sadness that came with remembering his old friends.

“It kinda hurts, most of the time, thinking about all the stuff that I want my fellow Air Nomads to see, but it’s a good hurt I guess. I know that Monk Gyatso would be happy and proud about what I’m doing, and that helps me feel better.” 

Sokka slumped back into the blanket pile, his tear-filled eyes fixed solidly on the full moon floating in the window.

“Thanks Aang. I’m gonna try and get some sleep.”

Aang couldn’t tell how much he had really helped, but Sokka didn’t seem to have any interest in more talking. The young airbender just pulled the shared mess of blankets around the pair as tight as possible and closed his own eyes.


End file.
